TKAM Final Review
English 1-2, 2014
TKAM Basic Points
• The author is Harper Lee
• The action of the novel occurs during the 1930s
• The novel was written in the mid-1950s &
published in 1960
• The point of view switches between first person
and a more mature retrospect
• It is a bildungsroman- a coming of age novel
• The writing style can be described like a
conversation with the author
Character Purpose
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Boo Radley- compassion
Miss Maudie- value of hard work
Mrs. Dubose- lesson of understanding
Judge Taylor- appears not to pay attention
Aunt Alexandra- traditional expectations
Capurnia- maternal force, voice for AfricanAmerican culture of the time
Children’s lessons
• The trial- life is not fair, not black and white, loss of
innocence
• The visit to Cal’s church- understanding poverty and
literacy, no Hymnals/congregation can’t read & Cal
lives in two worlds (like Dolphus Raymond)
• Boo Radley- people deserve privacy, don’t judge
people
• Walter Cunningham- accept people’s differences
• Dolphus Raymond- living in two worlds, providing an
excuse for people to criticize him- he knows they will
anyway…pretends to be someone he’s not so people
will “understand” him
Ranking Influence
• Please take a moment to talk to the people
around you about how you ranked each
person.
• There will not be a specific question on the
final asking you to rank all of the characters;
however, you will be asked to mark HOW each
character influences the children.
• To do this, know each character’s “scene” with
the children of the novel.
HOW each character influences
• Teachers- irony, angry at Scout for reading
• Atticus- you need to see thing’s from other
people’s perspective
• Aunt Alexandra- society’s expectations
• Miss Rachel- Dill’s aunt, Finches’ neighbor,
drinks heavily, Atticus’ first case
• Judge Taylor- children’s loss of innocence,
people don’t always do what’s right
HOW each character influences cont’d.
• Calpurnia- teaches the children manners,
acceptance of others, mother figure
• Miss Maudie- courage  flowers/burnt down
house
• Uncle Jack- Atticus & Alexandra’s younger
brother, he’s not always fair & doesn’t treat
children with the same respect Atticus does
• Heck Tate- a good man/static characterunchanging, comes up with story to protect Boo
& provides opportunity for Atticus to show his
gun skills
General Questions
• A mocking bird symbolizes innocence. They
sing and are beautiful.
• Maycomb’s usual disease is prejudice.
• Internal conflict is conflict a character feels
inside, like making a difficult decision. This is
opposite of external conflict, which is like a
physical fight. Most of the characters
experience some sort of internal conflict,
except maybe Bob Ewell.
How are these topics evident?
• Unconditional love- Atticus, with his children
• Loss of innocence- the children, the trial
• Courage- most of the characters display some
sort of courage, Mrs. Dubose- teaches the
children endurance
• Effects of poverty- Cunninghams, pay back
how you can/pride
• Approaches to education- teachers at school
& life lessons at home
Plot Diagram
• Your plot diagram will be full, but here’s what
you need:
– The first sentence of the novel, “ When he was
nearly 13….” is an example of foreshadowing.
– The climax of the novel is the trial.
– The resolution of the novel is Scout’s meeting
Boo.
Writing Questions
• One paragraph:
– Thesis is first!
• Multi-paragraph:
– Thesis is the last sentence of the introduction
paragraph
• Transitions are necessary between sentences and
paragraphs
• A conclusion paragraph:
– Restates the thesis, summarizes main points, and
offers insight about the topic.
When studying vocabulary:
• Consider how the word fit into the plot and could
be used to describe the characters.
• Don’t just learn the definitions!
• Example: Which vocabulary word describes how
Mrs. Dubose feels about Atticus?
• As you go through each word, or groups of words
if you’ve chunked them, ask yourself: Who does
this describe? What relationship does this
represent? What part of the plot cold be
described using this word?
Quotes:
• You need to know who said each of these
quotes:
“I felt right sorry for her, she seemed to try
more’n the rest of ‘em.”
“There’s a black boy dead for no reason, and the
man responsible for it’s dead. Let the dead bury
the dead this time.”
Quotes:
• You need to know who said each of these quotes:
“There’s some folks’ who don’t eat like us…but you
ain’t called on to contradict’em at the table when
they don’t.”
“I want you to see what real courage is, instead of
getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in
his hand. It’s when you know you’re liked before
you begin but you begin anyways and you see it
through no matter what.”
Quotes:
• You need to know who said each of these
quotes:
“I’m going to tell you something and tell you one
time: stop tormenting that man.”
“I’ll tell him you say hey, little lady…Let’s clear
out…Let’s get going, boys.”
Quotes:
• You need to know who said each of these
quotes:
“I am not. ‘t’s morbid, watching a poor devil on
trial for his life. Look at all those folks, it’s like a
Roman carnival.”
“…there are some men in the world who are
born to do our unpleasant jobs for us.”
Quotes:
• You need to know who said each of these
quotes:
“I’m beginning to understand why Boo Radley’s
stayed shut up in the house all this time…it’s
because he wants to stay inside.”
“You never really understand a person until you
consider things from his point of view.”
Finals Schedule:
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Tuesday: Periods 3,6
Wednesday: Periods 2,5
Thursday: Periods 1,4
Friday: no school for students, I will be here
Grades are due 6/10
• Study Guide due the day of the final
• Questions: email me
– ahernandez@smusd.us